This is NOT an Onion article, by the way, though I kinda wish it was. What you see is what you get: a piggy bank that goes beyond being shaped like a pig. It IS a pig... or at least, it once was.

Each unfortunate ex-piglet used to make the banks has to undergo a little change of their own, such as being stuffed taxidermy style, fitted with an internal coin receptacle, a coin slot in their back, and a cork plug... well, we're not exactly sure where THAT goes but you're more than welcome to guess. TheCheeky warns potential buyers that delivery takes 12 months... hey, just in time for Xmas of 2011!

Give credit (or blame) to Ryan McCormick and Colin Hart, the two entrepreneurs who own and operate TheCheeky. McCormick stresses that the piglets used to make the banks were not killed, but died of natural causes. He also seems a bit bewildered by the ferocious reaction from, ahem, the usual suspects.

"We're operating a business," explained McCormick. "It's no different than buying a leather jacket or a leather belt, or having bacon on your BLT. We're just adapting it to a different product." And, one presumes, a different audience: one with thick skin and an even thicker wallet.

Jenelle Petrinchuck, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Humane Society, definitely will NOT be placing an order. "Everybody we've shown it to has been disgusted by it," says Petrinchuck. "There's no reason to be charging $4,000 for that." You're gosh-darned ri... say WHAT?? Four grand?? Disgusting indeed, do you know how many Baconators that'll buy?!

If you're wondering, as of press time TheCheeky has yet to complete a sale of the Piglet Bank so one wonders about (a) their seriousness and (b) the long-term viability of their business model. McCormick & Hart's previous effort - those jumbo luggage stickers that made it appear (from a distance) as if you were smuggling drugs, money or stewardesses - fizzled out after Transport Canada declared the concept to be "not funny", and sternly advised travelers not to use the stickers. (via Vancouver Sun and Narinari.com)

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